Golden
moles are distributed throughout southern Africa (below the equator), in
various habitats ranging from swamps to deserts. There are 7 genera, containing
18 known species. Generally solitary, they live in complex burrows with
an anatomy adapted well for a subterranean existence. They have small ears
hidden by their fur, and their eyes are totally covered by skin. The nostrils
are protected by leathery pads, which may assist burrowing. A muscular head
and shoulders push the excavated soil back as they dig, and the powerful
forelimbs are equipped with claws. The claw on the third, and often the
second digit is elongated. There is no fifth digit on the forelimbs. Touch,
and particularly detecting subterranean vibrations, is an important sense
for golden moles, aided by a hugely enlarged malleus.

They
burrow just below the ground, occasionally returning to the surface to forage
for food. Their diet consists mostly of invertebrates. Chrysochlorids appear
similar to true moles (Talpidae) and marsupial moles (Notoryctidae). Males
and females both possess a cloaca for the urogenital system. They have a
pair of bones, named tabulars, in the occipital area of the skull not found
in any other mammals. The fur has an iridescent sheen of varying colours,
but the silvery yellow fur of Grant's golden mole (Genus Eremitalpa) probably
gave the family its common name. Their dental formula is: i3/3, c1/1, pm3/3,
m2-3/2-3 = 36 - 40. The first incisor is enlarged, the two lateral incisors
and first pre-molars are canine-like, and the molars are zalambdodont. There
is no distinct breeding season, and the production of 1 - 3 young, born
naked, occurs throughout the year.